SFR's Leigh Rowan headed out on Emeryville Sportfishing's New Seeker for some Spring Salmon trolling action off of the San Francisco coastline. Read his on-the-water report for first-hand details of the Bay Area Spring Salmon bite!

I had my first chance of the year to fish Salmon last Saturday (the 21st of April), and despite slow fishing up and down the coast recently, the skilled Captain Harry and his team of deckhands Tommy and Chris provided an entertaining trip for the 19 anglers aboard the New Seeker. We landed a total of 3 salmon, 2 of which were keepers (and one little jack we let go). In addition, we hooked another large (estimated 20+ pounds) king, but it got loose at the boat. Kudos go to angler Peter Shaw of Oakland who landed himself both keeper salmon and a free SportfishingReport t-shirt for winning the jackpot! Congrats Peter!

Spring Salmon fishing in the Bay Area can be a tricky thing. Bad weather and scattered fish often make Spring a terrible time to fish Salmon 'round these parts. While we were lucky that the weather was near flat calm - 4-6' rolling seas with little to no wind and very light drizzling rain - we were unlucky that the fish were scattered up and down the coast off of the Golden Gate. We started in the AM right below the Farallons and moved inside, slow-trolling anchovies the entire way. Captain Harry guided us into a spot about 5 miles offshore of Montara that finally produced a handful of salmon, but we missed as many as we landed, and we didn't even get a chance to catch the hundreds of other fish that were metered on the numerous bait balls.
All in all, even with the most expert guiding and the tenacity of years of Salmon trolling experience in the Bay Area, we couldn't beat the Spring Salmon fishing curse.

If you're interested in Salmon fishing in the Bay Area, check out the fine boats out of Emeryville, including the New Seeker and the New Salmon Queen! Even if you don't score a full limit, you're guaranteed to have a good time!

That's all for now....in the mean, wishing you tight lines! Leigh from SportfishingReport.com